In Memoriam
by Genis Aurion
Summary: KyleKenny slash. In which Kyle lives with a regret he wishes he never had.


**In Memoriam  
**A_ Kyle x Kenny fanfic  
_Zakuyoe

It was just a dream. Only a dream.

Yet still the grown man shuddered, writhing as his imagination took hold of him. Flashes of the past, the truth, fantasy… all played parts in the man's nightmare, and even if the man knew it was merely a dream, the knowledge alone wouldn't be enough to wake him up.

"_You're gonna leave it all now…?"  
"Goddamnit, Kahl, why the hell did you go through all of this if you aren't even gonna…."  
"Hey dude, you wanted to talk to me…?"  
"Tell him, Kyle…!"  
"Do what your—"_

"Uncle Kyle!" exclaimed a sudden voice, and before Kyle could even open his eyes he felt the weight of a ten-year-old boy on his stomach. Making some sort of moan, Kyle Broflovski sat up from his position, rubbing his eyes as he ignored the boy on his lap. Vision hadn't come back to him, but the boy's voice was enough for Kyle to recognize who was currently sitting on his lap, and with his free hand he plunged it in front of him.

The boy giggled as Kyle tickled him, squealing as he fell off. With a satisfactory smile Kyle took the opportunity to stand from his position, and as the boy giggled once more Kyle made a roaring sound. And then, once again, the process repeated, the boy doubling up in laughter as Kyle stuck his head outside his bedroom door.

"SURPRISE!" yelled a congregation of voices, and though it wasn't so much a surprise anymore he still joined their laughter. From behind him the boy gave his uncle a rather tight hug, and Kyle chuckled nervously as the congregation burst into song.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU…!" and even as he found himself being fitted with a birthday hat he turned red. Surprise parties seemed to be way past his age, at least so the man thought, but apparently his friends didn't think so. Still, knowing that a glum face would dampen their spirits, he set this aside—as well as anything to do with his dream moments before—and joined with the celebrations.

"Happy birthday, Kyle!" said a blonde man, approaching Kyle once the songs had subsided. "Sorry about waking you at eight in the morning but… you know me by now, I take it." At once the boy latched onto Kyle smiled gleefully, letting go of Kyle as he ran to the other man.

"I get it, Ken… thanks for the party, I guess." Kyle stifled a yawn. "I'm surprised all of you can actually wake up this early."

"Daddy put me to bed early last night!" said the boy happily. "He said to sleep early so I can greet you an early happy birthday!"

Kyle smiled, looking down on the boy as he messed around with the boy's blonde hair. "Good for you, Luke!" and as the boy smiled at himself contently Kyle turned to his father. "I told you to make him stop calling me uncle, didn't I?"

Kenny McKormick laughed. "I tried, Kyle. But since you were babysitting him a lot as a kid… well, he kinda thinks you _are_ his uncle." Beside him was his wife Laura, and as she smiled the toddler in her arms made an attempt in giggling. "Now my Les is gonna have to call you uncle, too. Imagine what she'd think if Luke could call you uncle, but not her…."

Kyle gave a defeated sigh, turning around as he examined the hallway everyone was crowding in. He could recognize Stanley Marsh with his wife Bebe and their three children; beside them was Rick Hodge, a friend from Harvard, and next to him was his girlfriend; by the rail were Wendy and Eric Cartman, the latter being rather grumpy about the whole ordeal (Kyle was unsurprised at this); and coming up the stairs were his family members—his mother, still quite plump (as he always imagined her being); his father, skinny and bony; and Ike, accompanied with his wife and their two-year-old son.

"Now him," said Kyle, turning back to Kenny. "That little guy… now _he_ can call me uncle."

"Birthday omelets are in the kitchen downstairs!" announced Mrs. Broflovski (the oldest one present, at least), and with a cheer the congregation made their way downstairs. Kyle stood still for several moments—_birthday omelets?_—but with a shrug he let it go and followed.

"My idea," said a voice he recognized instantly. "I figured it was too early in the morning to have a birthday cake, so I told your mom to make a birthday breakfast."

"Thanks, Stan." The black-haired man smiled wrapping an arm around their youngest child—roughly the same age as Luke. "Ben, don't you have something to say to Kyle, here?"

"I did, dad!" Ben protested. "We all did, remember? We sang happy birthday…" but a quick, stern glance told the boy that that wasn't merely enough. Sighing, Ben smiled at his father's friend. "Happy birthday, Kyle."

"Thank you."

"You know, dad, I think your friend Kenny's got the right idea… having Luke call Kyle _Uncle Kyle_, having him call you _Uncle Stan_…."

Bebe smiled at their child. "So you want to refer to Kyle as if he were your uncle?"

"Yeah," Ben said energetically, and his two older siblings—twins—nodded at the idea (though not as enthusiastically). "It's so weird calling _Uncle_ Kyle as if he were like, my age!"

His older sister, Stephanie, scuffed her brother's brown hair. "Sometimes I really do wonder how you're the same age as Luke… you think more maturely than Skyler does."

The response, of course, had earned her a light punch in the side from her twin brother, and as Bebe scolded at the two twice (first for setting a bad example to their younger brother, and the second time for horseplay on the stairs) Kyle caught Stan's eye and shared a silent laugh.

Eventually everyone made it to the kitchen area, where Sheila Broflovski was already handing out paper plates to the guests. If there was anything he'd have to appreciate it'd be this; his lack of cooking skills resulted in the lack of home-cooked meals in quite some time, and even though it was only breakfast it still tasted better than any of the fast-food meals he had eaten over the course of… well, he really had no idea.

Of course, since Kyle was the only person living in the house, there certainly weren't enough seats to have everyone fit at the dining table, so the guests were spread around the house to eat. Kyle didn't mind—as long no one was in his room—and as he tried to find his own place to sit, he found many of his friends' siblings running around the house, smiling playfully as they flew by him. He smiled; they reminded him of his youth, how he and Eric and Kenny and Stan had done the same, how they had delved into their own imaginary games. Sure, his own friends did much more exciting things (like playing with ninja weapons and breaking dams, for instance), but it was still the same concept….

"Uncle Kyle!" Luke exclaimed, waving at the man as he held onto what seemed to be the "safe place" in a game of tag. "Wanna play tag with us?"

"No thanks," Kyle replied politely, pointing at his omelet. "I'm still eating." And with a saddened sigh Luke turned around and shot off into Kyle's library, followed closely by Ben and Stephanie… and Leslie, though she was nowhere close to catching up to her brother.

As Kyle reached the stairs he found Skyler sitting upon it, and, noticing an empty spot next to the boy, sat down next to him. "Why aren't you playing tag with the rest of them?"

Skyler sighed. "Don't feel like it. Besides, I'm still eating." Kyle laughed, having just used the excuse moments before, and he placed an arm around the boy.

"You remind me of myself," Kyle said, and it was the honest truth. "Are you _sure_ you're Stan's kid?"

Skyler laughed. "Kyle—you know, Ben's right; it _is_ weird calling you that—but anyway, you're single! There's no way I'd be your kid." He muttered something else under his breath, a certain something he hadn't intended for anyone to hear.

Kyle had heard it, however. "You don't mean that. Stan's a good man; I'd know."

"But he's so fu—freaking bipolar! I mean, I'm glad he's my dad, but… I like you better."

"A lot of people like me," Kyle said, and the two laughed. Soon after, however, a silence befell them, and they watched silently as four kids ran past the foot of the stairs.

"So why aren't you married, then?"

The question alone had caused Kyle's eyes to widen, but before Skyler could notice Kyle shook it off. "Still looking for the right one, I guess," said Kyle, and Skyler passed it off as a valid response. Kyle's gaze remained fixated at the empty space in front of him for some time afterward. Sure, the question had been brought up many times beforehand, especially from Kenny; and each time Kyle had given a different reason. Perhaps this time it had only caught him surprised because he wasn't expecting it….

"Kyle?" The boy's voice brought Kyle back to reality, and as he turned to Skyler he found an unreadable face. "Did my dad… Did my dad really name me after you?"

Kyle shrugged. "That's what he said, wasn't it?"

**XX**

Kyle's "surprise" lasted for the whole day, surprisingly. Sheila Broflovski was more than pleased to serve their guests two more meals (on the condition that Eric Cartman didn't eat more than he needed to, which the boy reluctantly consented to), and though Kyle thought that somehow they'd run out of things to do, the party managed to live on.

In the afternoon Kyle took the children to the local park (along with their fathers) while the women of the party went shopping; Stephanie had gone with the women, as expected, and had chosen not to join everyone else in playing a game of baseball. Even though the parents were fewer in number and more skilled (little league baseball had an influence in their skill, unfortunately), they had still accepted the "kids versus adults" challenge given to them, and in the end lost (though they weren't exactly trying).

It wasn't until evening, though, when the opening of gifts had commenced. The event, according to Sheila, was supposed to occur at about eight, but the late arrival of the women had delayed it some.

"Women, as always!" Luke cried with some ignorance as Laura McKormick hushed him.

"Shall we then?" Gerald Broflovski announced, apparently having taken his wife's place as the party's host in her absence. "Kyle!"

Kyle laughed, hobbling over to his father as the older man pulled out presents from seemingly nowhere. Sure, he felt like a little child, almost as if this were his first birthday, but Kyle didn't care; he took a seat on the floor, joining the rest of his guests and taking the first gift. "Of course, first one's from mom and dad."

"Mom _and_ dad?" Sheila asked in an outraged voice, though Kyle could tell she was screeching playfully… if possible. "You were too lazy to get your own gift?" and indeed, as Kyle peered at the tag, he noticed the _"and dad"_ part hastily scribbled in.

Kyle, of course, was not surprised at the present. "A cookbook, of course…. _How to make all your favorite kosher recipes_… oh, it's _Kosher_, too!"

"Of course, Bubee," Sheila said sternly, but Kyle just laughed it off. Being a single man with no one to watch what he ate, it was more than likely that Kyle didn't eat anything kosher at all.

"Open ours next!" cried Ben, who was immediately calmed by his mother. Then, in a more relaxed voice: "You'll like it!"

Kyle nodded, searching the pile for one labeled with the Marsh surname, and after a few seconds he found it on a box wrapped with green and gold wrapping paper. "…my hat?"

"There's more," said Stan, laughing as he ignored his wife's disapproving shake of her head. "The pencil you lent me—you know, the one before I took my SATs—boxers you left at my house—"

"Thanks…" said Kyle slowly. "…thanks for giving me back my old stuff." But the box was not empty; frowning, Kyle reached into the box and pulled out several more shirts.

"From the rest of the family," said Bebe. "_New_ shirts. Since none of us have anything to give back to you." Several laughs emerged amongst the guests (particularly the kids) and as Kyle nodded in appreciation he set it down onto the floor.

From Ike's family he got a ridiculously large book of Su Doku puzzles and an advanced mathematics book. From Rick he had received a scrapbook of their memories together at law school. In the case of Wendy and Eric, each had given different things; Wendy had given Kyle a new pair of sunglasses, while Eric had given an iron-on patch bearing the Star of David.

A card and a present remained.

"Open the card first!" exclaimed an eager Luke, jumping in his seat. Nodding, Kyle did just that, and as he opened the card several bills fell out of the crease. "It's half my savings!" said Luke loudly, smiling.

"Luke, you shouldn't have—" Kyle, Kenny, and Laura were saying at the same time.

"But Uncle Kyle's my favorite uncle!" said Luke, gleefully, at this point getting up and giving his "uncle" a tight squeeze. "Happy birthday, Uncle Kyle!"

"T-thanks." He gave a pat on the boy's back as he let go, returning to his family. There was only one more gift now, and as he began to unwrap it Laura began to speak.

"I insisted we get him an actual present," she began as Kyle pulled the object out of its casing, "but he said you'd like that better, for some reason."

"I-I…" and indeed, as he stared at what he was holding, he couldn't help but to agree. He glanced at it, his eyes growing watery; but he blinked and did his best to hide the salty tears that would come soon if he wasn't careful. "I… thank you."

"Is something wrong?" Luke asked curiously, but Kenny only patted his son on the head and smiled at Kyle.

"Happy birthday."


End file.
